Harvey‘s Dream. Story 3. Read by Stephen King. Not a great narration, but interesting to hear it as if it were coming directly from his brain. The story was a simple but foreboding morning coffee conversation between an old married couple. A simple real life vignette, if your real life is created in Stephen Kings brain. Four stars.

A book of Stephen King stories to prepare for Halloween. Each story read by different narrators. The second, called The Gingerbread Girl, starts when a woman out for her morning run sees blond hair hanging from a car trunk and just has to take a look, and is predictably abducted by the killer. What follows is her harrowing experience at the hands of the man. A truely scary “curiosity and the cat” tale. A little over an hour listening time.

Follow up story about Holly now that Bill Hodges is gone. Good to spend some time with her, Jerome, and Barbara. Some people were frustrated with the liberal views here but Hollys views and quirks were true to her character. If you let politics stand between you and a great story, your loss. The mystery here was good, the characters were well done, and I liked the pace of the narration. The ending was all that I wanted it to be. Recommend.

Patchett has such a way of letting her stories grow. I get pulled into each character‘s life so slowly that I don‘t recognize the moment when they become old friends I don‘t want to let go of anymore. This tale of a woman working on the farm with her three daughters turns into her telling her life story to them, including her affair with a young movie star and the different paths they followed. A slow build but a solid recommend.

Excellent fictional account of three young men trapped on Bataan during WW II. Based on true stories, much of the book felt familiar but the characters were fresh and their backstories so well plotted that the whole story was engrossing. The writing moved quickly, interspersing touching stories of the boys growing up in Mobile with the horrors of their time in the Philippines. Listened to the audio which was also well executed. A strong recommend.

Really enjoying this story of a woman telling her story to her three daughters as they‘re picking cherries on the family farm one summer during the pandemic. I appreciate that the pandemic is the reason they‘re all together, but that it doesn‘t take such a central plot piece of the story. Interesting to see how authors are beginning to recognize the pandemic without relying on it as a core element of the story.

A light read about a young woman finding her way in life. Nothing deep, just a fun little romp that includes a secret bookstore, a tiny bit of romance, and a bit of a feminist twist. Fun summer read.

Listened to audio. Ray Porter is a perfect fit for this series. Once the action starts, it‘s a fast paced ride that‘s hard to put down. Every book is extending the very long backstory though so it‘s getting harder and harder to get into. Lots of detailed explanation of weapons and cars and governments, but that‘s also pretty typical. If you liked the first ones, this is the next one.

A surprising short novella about a math professor who can only remember 80 minutes at a time after an accident. A housekeeper and her son form a friendship that changes all of them in unexpected ways. Interesting little stories are included about the beauty of math and numbers, which enhance the story‘s progress as it does the characters.

Two smart and strong female characters start as enemies but the mystery of a dead body pulls them together, with each seeking to figure out the other along the way. It was a fun enemies to friends mystery.

A story of a boy & his horse, laced with historical facts, tinged with racial tension, & complemented by strong characters. The weaving together of different factual events - a painting recovered from the curb, the rediscovery of a horses skeleton, the death from a car wreck of a famous painter - all so skillfully researched & embellished. From the afterword, “this novel could not merely be about a racehorse, it would also need to be about race.”

The story was interesting. The characters felt a little flat to me and the writing was a bit monotone. I‘m likely a little too old now to read this much teenaged angst.

I thoroughly enjoyed this tale of a retired female pirate dragged back into service to find the daughter of a former shipmate. Fun characters and a simple but well crafted plot, including a bit of fantasy and a whole lot of action.

Nice discussion by this female pirate about the paradox of both loving your children and loving a job that takes you away from them.

“Men find it easier to believe they have been swindled by a witch than outwitted by a woman.”

This prequel to The Pillars of the Earth was like returning home to learn all about your grandparents over summer vacation. Spanning a decade, it follows several characters through the turn of the tenth century in England. There are Viking raids and bad antics by church bishops. There are royals and lepers. So little happens in a day and so much in a decade! Recommended for those who want a long but simple, cozy but challenging read.

A book you feel as much as read. When the weather turns sour, two old women are left behind by the tribe. The book follows their journey, which is both emotional and encouraging. This is more of a novella than a novel, so a very quick read, but a very long-remembered story.

I love when you find an amazing book for vacation. I loved this story of finding family, whether from old connections, new friends, or even a mysteriously intelligent octopus narrator. Highly recommend this one for anyone looking for something heartwarming and creative. Amazing especially as a first novel for this author!

Not the right book for me. I enjoyed the interesting first person snarky narrator, but couldn‘t get interested in any of the characters. The mystery was good so if you are into plot driven twisty turns mystery, it could really work for you. Just didn‘t work for me.

Everyone gets a string that tells you how long you‘ll live. Multiple storylines emerge as people come to terms with the ensuing decisions. Great premise and solid character development. The middle got a bit preachy in my opinion but the way the stories develop and intertwine kept me reading. Interesting way to reframe prejudice, and a different take on the question of what a life well lived really means.

But this is what humans have always done. We segment ourselves based on race or class or religion or whatever f&@$ing distinctions we decide to make up, and then we insist on treating each other differently.

Solid Koontz. First I‘ve read in awhile but the style and voice are very much the same as they always were. I appreciated the strong female characters in this one, and nice to see a fox instead of his normal dog as the grounding force. Plenty of suspense leading up to the monsters and a nice relaxing end after all the action. An easy and suspenseful read.

"Google Maps," Katie exaggerates, though mavbe not excessively, "are for the timid who need to see the world simplified in order to understand it. These maps are for those big, bold, pioneering souls who love complexity - explorers, adventurers, lovers of byways and alternate routes!"

She does not believe that any political ideology can shape society into a utopia. She knows that, instead, even the most earnest utopians always and everywhere create horrific dystopias.

She isn‘t a survivalist, but she intends to survive. She‘s not a prepper, though she makes preparations.

Great concept and some interesting plot lines. I had a very hard time getting into the story though until about half through. Downloaded the audiobook and doing a read along made me finish though. 50-80% I was all in, but the last 10% was strange again. Something still stuck with me enough that I plan to try book 2 of the trilogy. I do love all the slasher film trivia sprinkled in.

A woman comes home after her parents die to settle the estate with her brother. But the family estate includes more problems than she‘s prepared for.
I enjoy the humor and wit that comes with Hendrix‘s retro inspired horror. It‘s the perfect blend if you want scary but not too scary. This is more of a Chucky-in-a-dysfunctional-family drama than a haunted house book. A solid pick for me.

A fun romp through an alternate world full of Godzillas. The author wrote this as a quick fun change of pace after the pandemic. And it reads that way. It‘s a bit corny and predictable but a lot of fun.

Just picked this large print edition up from the library. Is the lack of page numbers a choice? Or a printing error?

While it helps to like video games, this is more a story of the complexities of friendship. Three friends build a game, and then a company. It‘s a story of what happens when friends become too invested in one another‘s lives, too dependent on one another for support, but don‘t actually know each other as well as they assume. It explores the ramifications of all the bad assumptions we make around other peoples‘ intentions. A solid pick for me.

She had thought she arrived. But life was always arriving. There was always another gate to pass through.

Stay warm tonight!

Fantastic and immersive trip through the opioid crisis, and what's it like to truly be poor in the country. Strong symbolism around the ocean/water provided a steady and bright canvas that allowed the characters to go dark and be confused as they found their way through their stories. So many great characters, including the mountain setting itself.

Cute little collection of science humor.

This just came up on my library holds! Very excited to get started on it.

I'm curious about the Buddy Reads on The Storygraph and decided to use this book to try it. If anyone's interested in joining me, I'm “outandabout“ over there. Let me know and I'll add you.

Beautifully written with a tense plot but somehow a relaxed pace, with a surprise ending. I enjoy historical fiction that doesn‘t worry so much about historical accuracy that the character development is lost. Interesting journey of a girl too young to be married off for political gain.

“The tigress didn't so much pace as pour herself, as if her very essence was molten, simmering, like the ooze from a volcano. It was hard to distinguish the bars of the cage from the dark, repeating stripes on the creature's fur. The animal was orange, burnished gold, fire made flesh; she was power and anger, she was vicious and exquisite;

Incredibly written, a troubled boy discovers his passed mother through her brain imprint, and his father struggles with how to work through it. Beautifully written and skillet plotted.

If Aly and I had been in charge, the luckiest thing in my life — the thing that kept me going when all the luck in the world went cold — would never have existed, not even in my wildest models.

Fun mother-daughter story about a college visit trip. There aren't many good stories about a professional single mother and a teenaged daughter. The mother in this is much more real. She struggles with her daughter but worries about her leaving. She doesn't fall in love with some random guy. She has her own friends and her own career, but worries that she handled parenting all wrong. The story was solid and funny. Recommended for parents of teens.

(Pic from authors note.)
This was extraordinary, heart wrenching, sometimes hard to read but always hard to put down. The personal story of a group of immigrants, with a mother and young son as the two central characters. Everyone is running from something but more importantly running toward a dream of a better, safer, more human existence in el norte. This is a story not to be forgotten as you watch and we struggle with immigration.

Thanksgiving has become the season of “when does Gamache get here”! Finished the audiobook in a few days. Great story, great narrator, and the hometown we all wish we had. Btw, the new tv series is okay too. But just okay.

So good I bought a copy after reading the library book.

This is such a long book and so rewarding. The characters were so well developed that I wanted to keep listening. I had the written version too so I could flip back and forth as my attention span demanded. I knew it was about the building of a church, but I didn‘t know that there would be villains and heros, peasants and royalty. Well worth the investment of 41 hours. Not sure I‘ll finish the series but I will get the dvd miniseries to relive it!

Many authors put you on a roller coaster, rolling you through the ups and downs of a story until the biggest drop and then a long coast to recover. This book is more like a drop tower, a slow crank upwards and then the exhilarating single huge drop of a climax at the end. You don‘t have much of a coast afterwards but all the storylines are sufficiently closed that you can imagine the rest. A solid suspense.

An unusual #vampire book. Someone‘s killing vampires. They enlist the help of a former spy to find the murderer. The spy‘s wife, a doctor when female doctors weren‘t normal, helps by researching property records and medical journals. Based mostly in London, there‘s a section where the spy and vampire visit the Paris vampires, including a jaunt through the catacombs to see the oldest vampire. Thoroughly entertaining October read!

Watching the Netflix series is so disappointing. It follows their story chronologically, which takes away so much of the character of the story, and makes the characters much less likable. It‘s watchable but a very different and less satisfying experience than the book.

Fabulous! I know nothing about tennis but that‘s not the point. This is a great coming-of-middle-age story about a woman who learns what‘s really important in life. Great characters and strong character development. I see lots of people say they really don‘t like Carrie so they stop reading. But that‘s the whole point! Carrie doesn‘t even always like Carrie but eventually, she figures it out. If you‘ve ever wanted to win something, you‘ll love it.

They wanted a woman whose eyes would tear up with gratitude, as if she owed them her victory, as if she owed them everything she had.

A cute story, if somewhat predictable. Old codger and young girl discover the meaning of life together and build a found family in a small town. In this one, the old codger is a bookstore owner on a small island in the Northeast somewhere, which makes it the perfect #vacationread or #beachread. Easy reading, interesting characters, fast-paced.